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Study a Verse
Pick any verse to see what it means and how to use it in your life.
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 18.10
न द्वेष्ट्यकुशलं कर्म कुशले नानुषज्जते ।
त्यागी सत्त्वसमाविष्टो मेधावी छिन्नसंशय: ॥ १० ॥
na dveṣṭy akuśalaṁ karma
kuśale nānuṣajjate
tyāgī sattva-samāviṣṭo
medhāvī chinna-saṁśayaḥ
The intelligent renouncer situated in the mode of goodness, neither hateful of inauspicious work nor attached to auspicious work, has no doubts about work.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioWhat this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.
3 study points
An intelligent renouncer in goodness neither hates inauspicious work nor clings to auspicious work, and has no doubts about work.
Prabhupāda explains that a Kṛṣṇa conscious person does not hate what troubles the body and performs duty without fear.
Do your duty at the proper place and time, without fearing the trouble it may bring.
Defines “Intelligent renouncer”
One who is in the mode of goodness
Neither hateful of inauspicious work nor attached to auspicious work, which implies:
One does not hate anyone or anything that troubles his body
Works in proper place at proper time
Without fearing the troublesome effects
Has no doubts about work
Texts 18.9 & 18.10
Text 18.10 describes the symptoms of proper renunciation
Texts 18.10 & 18.11
Can’t one just renounce all work, both the auspicious and inauspicious? This is answered in Text 18.11
A true sannyasi does not renounce his activities, but is detached from their fruits
Krishna concludes that renounced order of life (sannyasa) and renunciation of the fruits of action (tyaga) are the same.
Work performed in this way is renunciation in the mode of goodness
Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.
The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.
Key ideas: karma, sva-dharma.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
What does BG 18.10 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to duty & action?
Do one task today purely because it is right.
Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.
Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.
Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.